Saline-tunneling endoscopic submucosal dissection for residual rectal lesion at anastomotic staple line.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) in surgically altered colorectal anatomy is challenging because of postsurgical fibrosis and the presence of staples. We report a case of a combined saline immersion and tunneling ESD ("saline-tunneling" ESD) for a lesion at a stapled rectal anastomosis.

METHODS

A 67-year-old man with T3N1M0 rectal cancer underwent neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in 2019 followed by proctosigmoidectomy in 2020. A postoperative colonoscopy detected a residual lesion, but the patient was lost to follow-up until 2023. At that time, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography scan showed a non-fluorodeoxyglucose-avid soft-tissue mass just above the anastomosis without nodal or distant metastases. Colonoscopy revealed a 3.5-cm granular, mixed-nodular laterally spreading tumor spanning the anastomotic staple line. Near-focus magnifying endoscopy narrow-band imaging with indigo carmine showed Kudo V_i and Japan Narrow-Band Imaging Expert Team 2B features consistent with advanced neoplasia. We performed saline-tunneling ESD under continuous saline immersion to enhance visualization, stability, and margin acquisition.

RESULTS

En bloc resection of the lesion was achieved. Histopathology confirmed a tubulovillous adenoma with high-grade dysplasia and negative margins.

CONCLUSIONS

This case demonstrates the successful integration of submucosal tunneling and saline immersion techniques at a stapled rectal anastomosis. The novel saline-tunneling ESD approach may offer a safe, effective alternative to repeat surgery for fibrotic, anatomically constrained colorectal lesions.